1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasound-imaging-device transducer adapter. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method to operate ultrasound transducers designed for one ultrasound imaging device with another different ultrasound imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are currently several manufacturers of medical ultrasound imaging systems. Because there has not been a need or effort at standardization, each distinct manufacturer has a unique configuration for the connector that facilitates the connection of an ultrasound transducer (probe) to the ultrasound imaging system. The ultrasound transducer converts electrical signals into sounds, which are propagated, for example, into a human body and reflected from internal body structures. The reflected sounds are converted back to electrical signals by the transducer and processed by an ultrasound imaging device to image the internal body structures.
A typical ultrasound transducer, such as a phased-array or other array transducer, has many transducer elements (e.g., 64 up to 288 elements) that perform electrical to acoustic and acoustic to electrical conversion. Wires (cable, electrical conductors) connect the transducer elements to a transducer connector. Typically, the wires terminate at pins in the transducer connector. The transducer elements via the transducer connecter transmit and receive electrical signals used for imaging by the ultrasound imaging device.
A typical ultrasound imaging device has an operator control and input interface (e.g., a keyboard), a display device to display information and images, a storage unit to store the information and the images, a communication interface to communicate to external devices and processors executing software that control the ultrasound imaging system components. The communication interface includes at least one system connector that matches and fits transducer connecters to connect transducers to the ultrasound imaging device.
Transducers are optimized for specific applications, thereby having various types/kinds of transducers. For example, one kind of transducer can be optimized for babies or pediatric cases, another one can be optimized for adults, and still another one can be optimized for cardiac or abdominal imaging. The transducers can physically differ, for example, by having different transducer elements and/or different transducer connectors. Typically, a manufacturer has a method of identifying a transducer so that the ultrasound imaging device determines the type of transducer connected to the device and configures appropriate parameters of the device to properly operate the connected transducer (e.g., execute software to operate the identified transducer). The transducer can include a memory unit in a transducer handle to store identification information. The memory unit can be, for example, random access memory (RAM) and/or erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). The identification information identifies the type of transducer connected to the ultrasound imaging device. The identification information accommodates connecting different type transducers of a manufacturer with the same manufacturer""s ultrasound imaging device, allowing for interchangeability of the manufacturer""s probes. Therefore, a typical ultrasound imaging device by one manufacturer has more than one system connectors, for example, 3 or 4, to connect and operate more than one optimized transducers of the one manufacturer and the ultrasound imaging device reads transducer identification information from the transducer to configure the device.
However, a transducer from one manufacturer cannot operate with an ultrasound device from other manufacturers, unless the manufacturers cooperate by disclosing/sharing interface (transducer to ultrasound imaging device connection) information. Therefore, there has not been much effort to connect and operate incompatible transducers to/with an ultrasound imaging device. Further, typical transducer adapters have been limited to only providing a physical pass through of electrical signals to accommodate physically incompatible connectors. Because of mergers and acquisitions in the ultrasound industry between manufacturers of ultrasound imaging devices and/or manufacturers of transducers, companies that once competed with each other are now working together in the marketplace. In particular, some companies may have achieved technical superiority/excellence in design of ultrasound imaging devices, while others may have achieved technical superiority in transducer design. Therefore, there is a need to connect and use ultrasound transducers designed for one ultrasound imaging device with another different ultrasound imaging device.
The present invention can practically and efficiently connect and operate transducers to/with an incompatible ultrasound imaging device. For example, the apparatus of the present invention can connect a transducer from one manufacturer to an ultrasound imaging device of another manufacturer.
The present invention can be attained by an ultrasound transducer adapter that comprises an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer storing identification information, a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducer, and an interface to read via the adapter-transducer connector the identification information from the ultrasound transducer, to convert the identification information to a compatible configuration information of the ultrasound imaging device and to transmit the compatible configuration information to the ultrasound imaging device via the system connector. The ultrasound imaging device is programmed to operate at least one transducer, each transducer having a registered identification code and the transmitted compatible configuration information is one of the registered identification codes. The ultrasound imaging device uses setting information to operate at least one ultrasound transducer and the transmitted compatible configuration information is the setting information.
Further, the present invention can be attained by an ultrasound transducer adapter that comprises an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer, a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducer, and an interface to provide compatible electrical information signals to/from the ultrasound transducer from/to the ultrasound imaging device via the connectors of the adapter.
Further, the present invention can be attained by an ultrasound transducer adapter that comprises an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer with transducer elements, a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device with transmitters and receivers, which are incompatible with the transducer elements, to transmit and receive electrical signals to/from the ultrasound transducer, and an interface to provide compatible information signals between the ultrasound transducer and the ultrasound imaging device by mapping the transducer elements from the ultrasound transducer to pins of the system connector according to connection configuration of the ultrasound imaging device and by converting electrical signals of the transducer elements to electrical signals compatible with the transmitters and receivers and/or converting electrical signals from the transmitters and receivers to electrical signals compatible with the transducer elements. The interface converts the electrical signals by matching electrical specifications of the transducer elements to electrical specifications of the transmitters and receivers and vice versa. In particular, the interface converts the electrical signals by transforming/matching impedance of the electrical signals from the transducer elements to impedance of the electrical signals of the transmitters and receivers and/or by transforming/matching the impedance of the electrical signals from the transmitters and receivers to the impedance of the transducer elements.
Further, the present invention can be attained by an ultrasound imaging system and method with an ultrasound transducer adapter of the present invention.
Advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.